What kind of member are you? (Check as many as apply.)

Collector, Fan, Just Curious

What would you like to tell us about yourself, your collecting, or business.

Baseball only. Primarily HOF and other greats from 1910-1950. Also, personally acquired material circa 1969-71

What is your level of expertise?

Intermediate Collector, Long Time Lover

Why do you want to join Autograph Live?

I was a 14 yr old high school freshman in the Fall of 1970 when my passion for collecting began to expand beyond the my Topps cards, to include autographs. By then, card trading - bickering, dickering, and bargaining face-to-face over player values and the cardboard's condition - was fast in decline. Sets were replacing scarcity, and no one wanted to trade anymore. An exception in those times was in the swapping among those-in-the-know of the addresses of the game's immortals - great's who's feats had been dimmed by the passage of time, and not inconsequentially, by the passing as well of early century players.
Stimulated by the challenge of scoring a hard to get address and having a chance to have a genuinely personal exchange with the old-timer, got me to sit myself down and start writing letters. With the best spelling, the most correct grammer, and the neatest handwriting that could be expected of a 14 yr old boy, I started sending off letters as fast as I could trade or barter for new addresses. I kept up this steady pace of correspondence for about a year, yielding very gratifying results for a young fan enthralled with the deep history of the game.
Everything I ever collected from that period I still have. I haven't dealt any of it way, I haven't sought an appraisal, and I have no experience dealings with dealers and the deals they design. I'm not looking to market my stuff.
What brings me here to this site? I have one item that it may be time for me to part with. I'm interested the thoughts and advice from other well-intentioned fans about what options I should be considering as I consider parting with an item I've protected and preserved as an historical artifact for the past 40 years. Details below.

Who can we thank for telling you about us?

No member invited me to join

What are your areas of interest?

Sports, History/Politics

Why do you collect?

To keep and preserve the little bit of my history that has crossed paths with a part of our larger history.

What is your favorite autograph in your collection?

My favorite autograph is that of a high school phenom turned the newest inductee to the National Baseball hall of Fame - Bert Blyleven. Three check-out cards for baseball-themed books that once resided on the shelfs of Garden Grove, CA, Santiago High School Library, attest to Blyleven's earliest professional ambitions and influences. I acquired these exceptionally unique pre-professional, personally revealing artifacts in the Fall of 1970 while a attending the same Santiago High school as a freshman and librarian's helper.

You can ask anyone living or dead for their autograph. Who would it be?

Alexander the Great